


After the night came

by madam_coralina



Category: Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (TV 2018)
Genre: F/F, Headcanon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-02
Updated: 2021-01-01
Packaged: 2021-03-10 19:01:30
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,972
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28492065
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/madam_coralina/pseuds/madam_coralina
Summary: Almost a year after the events that changed her life forever Zelda Spellman has to deal with an unexpected visitor and the revelations they may bring.(It takes place after the events from 08x04)
Relationships: Marie LaFleur (Chilling Adventures of Sabrina) & Zelda Spellman, Marie LaFleur (Chilling Adventures of Sabrina)/Zelda Spellman
Comments: 3
Kudos: 58





	1. Part I

**Author's Note:**

  * For [renaissancefleabag](https://archiveofourown.org/users/renaissancefleabag/gifts).



> I wasn't happy with what they did with the character of Mambo Marie and her relationship with Zelda so I tried to fix it. Does the story make much sense? Maybe not... but have you watched the part 4?? So this is my take almost a year later after 08x04.
> 
> (English is not my first language, so please be nice)

It’s been almost a year since the events that changed her life forever happened. And through those almost 365 days she did the same ritual: she would wake up, go to the academy, come back home late at night and after taking a shower that was supposed to erase the weight of the whole day from her shoulders, she would walk into that room that has stayed the same since the last time her niece was there. She knew that what Sabrina did was brave and for the greater good, but sometimes she wished that the selfish side her niece had and that she pointed out so many times would have spoken louder… but she also knew that if that had happened she and the rest of the world wouldn't exist anymore. So at the same time she felt sad and empty because she had lost so much, she was thankful for what Sabrina did for them and every night, when she sat on Sabrina’s bed staring at the empty room, she would close her eyes and send Hecate a special prayer asking for her niece’s soul’s protection and light.  
Hilda knew about her sister’s little ritual and at first she had not interfered because she knew that it was her way of dealing with everything. Losing Sabrina was hard on them on so many levels and a year ago Zelda lost too many things at once. She at least had Dr. Cee to help her go on and to make her some company but her sister… well, she only had that stupid dog. Not that Hilda didn’t like the dog, but she doesn’t like the meaning of it because she knew it was a constant reminder of another thing her sister had lost. Love.  
When they were visited by the first Eldritch Terror and it faced Zelda she heard her sister’s fears. She was afraid of not being loved by her niece but also by someone else… someone that later she found out wasn’t who she thought they were. Hilda knew that after a long time Zelda had finally allowed herself to be in love with someone when she met Mambo Marie. And finding out that Mambo Marie didn’t actually exist was a huge deal for Zelda because even though she tried to hide it, it was pretty clear in her face whenever she was around that dog that Baron Samedi left her as a gift. Hilda could see in her eyes that she missed the other woman and it hurt her to see her sister like that and not be able to do anything. That’s why every night when Zelda locked herself in Sabrina’s room, Hilda would wait outside and also do her own prayer for her niece’s soul and also her sister’s well being.  
“Zelds, it’s saturday, don’t you want to stay home and do something fun?” She asked one day. She respected her sister’s ritual but it was time to put an end to it. “Maybe we could do a little family game night. You, me, Dr. Cee and-”  
“That is not going to happen, sister.” The older woman said as she finished her coffee and stood up from the breakfast table. “Family game nights are not… you know.” And Hilda did know. “And I have to be at the Academy today, Prudence is checking in the new students and I have to make sure she doesn’t screw up.”  
“She’s been our Maiden for a while now, Zelds, so I think you already trust her enough to do this by herself but you only need an excuse to leave the house.”  
“I don’t know what you mean, sister… I don’t need excuses, I’m a very occupied woman. I’m the High Priestess, I have a lot to do.” She said with a stern voice. She was never going to admit that her sister was right. After everything it was just unbearable to stay in this house alone. Hilda and Dr. Cee were always at his stupid shop working until late at night, Ambrose was hardly ever home, he spent most of his time at the Academy studying and preparing his classes. Now it was just her and Vinegar Tom, who she loves very much and enjoys the company but he brings up some ghosts that she wasn’t willing to deal with. And it’s not that she couldn’t be alone, on the contrary, she always enjoyed her own company, she loved being home alone with her glass of scotch… but it’s just that now everything had changed so much that she’d do anything to avoid being there. But again: she wasn’t going to admit that.  
“Okay…” Hilda decided not to argue. “but well, since you’re not up for a family game I’ll be going to the shop to help Dr. Cee with the interviews for the new cashier. By the way, don’t you think you can come help us with that?”  
“I told you I’m never stepping on that shop.” She said as she lit up a cigarette. “And why would you need me anyways?” She asked as if she wasn’t interested. But she was. She would do anything to leave the house.  
“Well… you were very good with the interviews for the new teachers at the academy and even though I love and trust my husband very much he’s not really good at choosing the people he’s going to work with… considering last time.” She referred to a few months back when Dr. Cee hired a man who they later found out was stealing money from them. “So I was wondering if you could help me with that.”  
Zelda eyed her sister for a few seconds. She really didn’t like that shop and all the mortal teenagers that would come in all the time (specially because she wished that one of those teenagers would be her niece saying that it was a prank all along) but she knew Prudence would handle the new students with no trouble and being away from work doing something different for once would be good.   
“Fine. But I get the final word.” She finally said.  
“Okay, good.” Hilda should’ve seen that coming… she didn’t know if it was a good idea to agree to it but at least she would be able to take Zelda out of the house.  
They spent the whole day interviewing different people and no one seemed to be a good fit for the job. With some of them Zelda didn’t even need to step in, Hilda herself saw that they wouldn’t work.  
“So what now, sister?” Zelda asked after they interviewed the last scheduled person of the day. “I thought it would be easier to find someone, it’s not that big of a deal… but I guess these mortals are just too stupid for anything.” She rolled her eyes as she stacked away all the resumes they had gone through.  
“Well,” Hilda started as she stood up. “I’m going to fix us something to eat because I’m starving. Can you change the sign at the door, please? We better close for the night.”  
Zelda did as her sister had asked her and while she was waiting for Hilda to bring their food (which she hoped was followed by a strawberry milkshake because yes, Zelda Spellman had a sweet tooth) she was going through the books Dr. Cee had at the store. She thought it was ridiculous how some of those books that had actual information about Greenale’s History as well as the stories of the witches that have lived there were sold as mere fiction. If these people had taken these seriously they would’ve dealt better with all the craziness that goes around this town. It was when she was about to reach for a book about the witch trials in Greendale that she heard the little bell on the top of the shop’s door announce the arrival of someone.  
“Didn’t you see the sign on the door? We’re closed!” She asked, coming out from behind the bookshelves.   
“Excusez-moi!”  
Zelda froze in her steps. She knew that voice. She knew that accent .She had missed it every day for the past year… but that couldn’t be.  
“I saw this poster on the door as I was passing by and I was wondering if I could leave my resumé here.” The woman said and didn’t get anything but a hard stare from Zelda. “Are you okay, cherie?”  
“Don’t-” Zelda yelled before she took a deep breath in and stepped back. “Don’t call me that. What do you want here? Who are you?”  
The woman faced her with curiosity, trying to understand what was going on.  
“Sister, I heard you yell, is evetyhing- WHAT IN HECATE’S NAME!” Hilda said as she left the tray with their food fall to the ground. “Mambo Marie?” She asked in a whisper.  
“Do we know each other?” Mambo asked with a small confused smile.  
“No.” Zelda answered coldly. “And the interviews are over. You’re gonna have to find some place else to work.” Were her last words before she left the room.  
“No! Don’t mind my sister” Hilda said trying to light up the mood. She knew something was going on and she wanted to find out what it was. What is Mambo Marie doing here if she didn’t exist? Or even better: WHY is she here? “We-I can do one more. Let me just clean up this mess and I’ll be right there with you. Please, take a seat at one of our tables. Can I bring you anything?”  
“No, merci.” She said with a big smile. “I’ll just wait for you.”  
After the woman’s answer she ran up to the kitchen to find her sister, but she had already left.  
When Hilda went back to the tables’ room she saw Mambo Marie going through the bookshelves reading the book’s titles.  
“Excusez-moi,” She said when she noticed Hilda was back. “I couldn’t help not looking at the shelves. These books of yours are very interesting…”  
“No problem, love.” Hilda brushed it off. “Why don’t you tell me a bit about yourself? We don't need to make this interview very formal.”  
Marie smiled before she took her seat back, followed by Hilda.  
“I just moved to Greendale a few days ago, I used to live in New Orleans but after many years living there about six months ago I started to feel that I needed a change of air.” She explained.  
“A change of air is always nice. But why Greendale?” Hilda was curious because then, in fact there was a Mambo Marie in New Orleans.  
“To be honest I don’t really know… before I made my decision I kept having these dreams of this small town and in one of them the Greendale sign you have at the entrance of the town was very clear so I thought it was a sign of where I was supposed to go. And after that I got another sign in a dream where I was visited by this beautiful angel… so I really had no other choice.” She explained with this light in her eyes. A light of someone who knew they had made a good decision. “And if I’m being honest with you… Mrs. Spellman, isn’t it?”  
“Ah, yes, love… sorry, I forgot to introduce myself.”   
“Oh, don’t worry about it… it almost feels like I already know you.” She said with a smile. This line particularly got Hilda’s attention. “So, Mrs. Spellman, if I’m being honest with you… I don’t know if you believe this energy thing but since I arrived in this town I feel lighter, as if I’m really where I was supposed to be.”  
“I do believe in that, Mambo…” And Mambo had no idea how much Hilda believed in that. “So, about New Orleans… what did you do there?”  
“Well, I had a shop… that’s why I thought I would be a good fit for this job. I already worked as a cashier back there so I thought it could count as experience.”  
“Yes, it definitely does… and what was this shop of yours? Was it a diner like here or… maybe a voodoo shop.” Hilda dropped in a playful tone.  
“Well…” Mambo Marie was a little taken aback.  
“Don’t worry, if it’s the second option it’s totally fine too, we don’t have that kind of discrimination here… I mean,” She corrected herself. “I- my family and I we don’t have it but you should be careful with this town.”  
“Yes… I’ve heard about the trials.”   
“So you know they aren’t mere fiction…” Hilda watched her closely.  
“Differently from what your books here say… I do know they happened for real. I’m from New Orleans, we had some trials of our own.”  
“So… you’re a…”  
Marie eyed her for a while before she answered. She knew she shouldn’t give these informations about herself to some strangers but like she said she felt like she already knew this woman. And not only her but the other one from earlier too.  
“A vodousaint… and you’re a witch, aren’t you? I can sense some magic energy coming from you.” She said as she crossed her arms.  
“Very well, Mambo Marie, you’re correct.” She smiled. “Do you wanna tell me what is the real reason you came to Greendale and why you’re at my shop right now?”  
“Well… I didn’t lie before. I did have my shop back there but something really weird happened to me and I’m willing to find out what it was and I had a sense the answers that I seek would be found here in this town.”  
“And what exactly happened to you?”  
“That is the problem, I don’t know. I was living my life normally until one day I woke up and everything felt different.”  
“Different how?”  
“Like I had some memories of things that I’m very sure I didn’t do. But they’re so vivid in my head that it just doesn’t feel like everything is made up.”  
Hilda observed her for a while. If Mambo Marie was a real person maybe what happened to her was the same thing that happened to Ms. Wardwell when she was possessed by Lilith. Of course she came back because Lilith wanted to give Sabrina a gift so maybe it wasn’t the same but something along those lines.  
“Mambo Marie, I have another proposal for you… I’m sure you’d be a great cashier here but I think I know where you’d be a better fit.”  
The woman eyed her with suspicion. Hilda knew that her sister wasn’t going to like what she was about to do at all but if Mambo Marie had these memories maybe not everything related to Baron Samedi was a lie.  
“And where is this place?”  
“You’ll see!” She stood up and reached out her hand for Mambo Marie to hold. She could feel the woman wasn’t sure about it but she went with it and took her hand. “Lanuae magicae!” She said before the other woman could change her mind.  
“Sister Spellman!” Hilda heard Prudence say when they arrived at her office at the Academy.  
“I think I have a perfect fit for your vodousaint place.” She said as she stepped aside, revealing Mambo Marie to the younger witch.  
“Mambo Marie… I-I don’t understand.” To say that she was surprised was an understatement.   
“You’re one of the witches I’ve been seeing in my dreams… do I know you?” Marie said as she eyed the girl.  
“I was feeling your energy around for a while now but I just thought… I- how is it possible? You don’t exist, you’re.. aren’t you Baron Samedi?” She asked as she took a seat down, trying to process everything.  
“Baron Samedi?” The woman asked with wide opened eyes.   
“Yes, dear…” Hilda finally said. “You might wanna sit down to hear the story.”  
The three of them seated in that office for about an hour to help Mambo Marie catch up on everything that happened. How Prudence had found her when she was seeking revenge on her father, how she called upon her when they needed help with the coven, how she was crucial to help save Zelda’s life when father Blackwood had killed her, how she participated in Hilda’s resurrection, how she helped them with the Order of Hecate, how she, Prudence and Rozhad become the weird sisters and how in the end, after everything they had been through, she revealed herself to be Baron Samedi.  
“This makes no sense…” Mambo said as she walked from one side to the other while she tried to process everything. “It is not possible because last year I was in New Orleans… I never saw you in my shop, I never left town. And Baron Samedi… of course I know about him and his doings, he is part of my culture but that is not how he works… and even if it was a possession, I still have these memories from last year so I couldn’t be here.”  
“Well, if we learnt anything with what happened with us is that it is possible for the same person to be at different places at the same time.” Prudence said.  
“But from what she’s saying it sounds very different from what happened to Sabrina.” Hilda said with a little pain. Her niece was always going to be a soft topic for her.  
“Yes, but the realms or the worlds work the same way. Maybe Mambo Marie did exist and was living her normal life in another world that wasn’t this one we live in.”  
“Baron Samedi can travel through realms… but even if that is what happened and he took my form there should still be a part of me in him, even if it was small or asleep.”  
“But wouldn’t you have to have had contact with him somehow so he could… you know, manifest himself as you?” Hilda asked.  
“Oui… and he did.” She stated. “We had festivities for him a couple of years ago. Some people said they were visited by him at night after that but I don’t recall it happening to me so I don’t think I was visited.”  
“Or maybe you were and you don’t remember?” Prudence guessed. “After you- I mean, him as you, came and we started working together he gave me a few books about the voodoo culture and I remember reading something about people not remembering visits from Loas in case of body possessions.”  
“But she wasn’t possessed…”  
“But what if she was and she just doesn’t remember? It could’ve been a double possession: of her body and mind while he was pretending to be her and of her mind again to make her believe nothing happened and that life was going normally when she woke up.”  
“Oui, it is true… these cases of possessions are rare but they can happen.” Mambo Marie explained. “And since in these cases a part of the chosen person is alive… that is why I have these images in my head. They’re actually memories and-”  
“Mambo Marie?” Both Hilda and Prudence said when Mambo Marie disappeared before she could finish her sentence.


	2. Part II

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here we go with part 2!

When she saw the woman at the shop her first impulse was to take a step back and run to the kitchen. She couldn’t believe what her eyes had just seen and especially not what she felt inside. She was so nervous that the only thing she wanted to do was go back home.  
After using a spell to land directly in her bedroom she sat on the bed and tried to control her breathing while her hands were still shaking. It couldn’t be, could it? That woman was not real, she never was, so how was she back? She hadn’t used the dice for her to be back and even if she did.. she had seen the Loa's true form.  
Before her head would combust with too many thoughts at the same time, she went to her bathroom and turned on the shower, she didn’t even bother to take off her clothes as she just sat on the ground and let the water fall on her head. She could hear her dog barking from the bedroom’s door asking for entrance but her dog was also a reminder of that woman and all she wanted to do right now was to calm down and let all these feelings that came back rushing to her pass. It’s been almost a year… she had forced herself to not let this part of what had happened mess with her this much. She had loved that woman. And yes, that woman… who had taken care of her, showed her love and respect, that was by her side at important moments… not that man who revealed himself in the end and just broke her inside. She understood the meaning of his mission, but there was no need for him to play with her like that.  
She allowed herself to feel everything that she wanted while she was under the water, but once she was out of the shower the only thought hanging in her head while she changed clothes was why was he back. And when she thought of it and remembered who he was a little light of hope kindled in her heart. If the Loa of the dead was back in town… maybe, just maybe, just like he brought back Vinnie T he’d be able to bring Sabrina back. She didn’t want to hold too tight on that hope because this was a completely different kind of magic he dealt with, but she could try so she reached for those dice under the bed and before she’d shake them she opened the door to the anxious dog barking outside her room.  
“This is it, Vinegar,” She said looking at him, who barked back in answer. “no! This is my only chance of maybe having my niece back and I’m not throwing it away because of feelings I had for someone who doesn’t even exist.”  
And before the dog could bark anything back she shook the dice. She felt a strong energy run around the room but it only lasted 10 seconds before it was all quiet again and nothing happened.  
“That fucking liar… this doesn’t work!” And when she was about to throw it at the wall with rage she heard a noise behind her.  
“Where am I?” Asked the confused woman.  
“Well…” Zelda said turning around and facing Mambo Marie. “I thought you’d at least have the decency of showing yourself the way you truly are.” She crossed her arms.  
“Cherie, I don’t understand what you’re saying I-”  
“I already told you to not call me that!” She had missed that voice calling her that way, but she also knew it was all a lie. “I summoned you here because I need something. You said that if I ever needed you help that was all I needed to do.”  
“Zelda… is it?” She asked confused but didn’t wait for the red headed woman to answer before she went on. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I was at the school with your sister and that girl Prudence just a second ago and now I’m here… what did you do?”  
“What were you doing at my school?!” Zelda yelled.  
“Your sister took me there, she said you needed a vodousaint and-”  
“You’re not a vodousaint, stop lying, it isn’t funny anymore… it never was.” It was possible to feel the pain in her words.  
“Your sister told me what happened, but I swear I didn’t have anything to do with it, I’m just as confused as you are. I was living my life normally in New Orleans when suddenly something just didn’t click anymore and I started having these feelings and dreams and in one of these dreams this silver haired angel told me I should follow my feelings and now I’m here in a town with people who say they already knew me but it wasn’t really me and maybe I was possessed by one of the most feared Loas my culture has so oui… I’m confused!” She lashed out. She was getting tired of the amount of fingers being pointed at her face. “I don’t know exactly what he did to you,” her tone was softer now. “but I was used too so I’d appreciate it if you’d just treat me as a person.”  
They just stared at each other for a moment. Zelda didn’t know if she believed what this woman was saying but something she mentioned definitely got Zelda’s attention.  
“You said about a silver haired angel?”  
“Yes, I’m not sure if she was an angel but it was a girl, with very light skin and silver hair… she had this white dress and this black hair band and I think she told me her name once in one of the dreams but I don’t recall it, maybe it was -”  
“Sabrina…” Zelda whispered as she sat down on her bed so she could hold the weight of her body.  
“Oui, that was her name.. how do you know?” Mambo Marie asked with an eyebrow raised.  
Zelda didn’t answer. She just reached for the drawer of her bedside table and took out a picture. She stared at it for a few seconds before she handed it to the other woman.  
“Was this you angel?”  
“Yes… this is her… how…”  
"That's my niece.” She said with a tear rolling down her face.  
“Was she the one that…”  
“Yes… she sacrificed herself to save all of us.”  
“Je suis désolé… I imagine it wasn’t easy.” She said, still keeping her distance.  
There was a silence in the room while Zelda stared into nothing and Mambo Marie kept looking at the picture. The silence was broken when they heard the dog barking.  
“Hey, I know you…” Marie said as she kneeled down to pet the dog.  
Zelda watched as her familiar played with the woman as if he also had known her.  
“After you left… Baron Samedi, I mean,” She corrected herself. “He left my dog as a gift. I guess he knew what was gonna happen a few days later and thought that the dog would help me be distracted.”  
“You were blessed, Zelda Spellman… he is not known for being kind like that.”  
“Blessed?” Her angry tone was back. “I was played by him, manipulated to think that…'' She couldn’t finish her sentence. This woman was a complete stranger, it would be awkward to let her past feelings be known like that. Especially because they weren’t completely in the past and having her presence now made it even more clear.  
“I know…” She said with a small smile.  
“Yo-you know?” Zelda felt her cheeks burn. How did she know???  
“When I saw you at the shop I felt it too… I thought it was just the same feeling of recognizing people I didn’t remember I had met but when I saw your sister and the other girl at the school I knew the feeling was different.” She explained. “I’m sorry he played you like that… and I’m sorry he played me like that too because somehow in this possession there was still a part of me there when he claimed my body… but that won’t be clear until I figured out what happened exactly and I feel like I might be getting closer to the answer now that I’m here.”  
“Ambrose…” Zelda said as she got up from the bed. “Ambrose can help us understand what happened.”  
“Us?” She played. Funny how this woman changed tone quickly.  
“You.” She corrected. “We need to go back to the academy and see if he can do a regression spell with you to see if we can find out what happened.”  
“Oui, that sounds like a good plan, but… I still don’t understand how I ended up here if I were just there.”  
Zelda eyed the dice on her bed and pointed at them. Mambo Marie took them in her hands and right away she recognized them.  
“This is from one of the vodou games I have at my shop… how is it here?” She was really confused.  
“Baron Samedi left it. He said that whenever I needed help I could use it and he’d come to me.”  
“That doesn’t make any sense, that’s not how you summon a Loa and- wait… why were you trying to summon him?”  
“I…” She cleared her throat before she went on. “After I saw you earlier tonight I thought maybe it was a sign and I hoped that… with the summoning I could wish to have my niece back.”  
Marie could see the pain written on that woman’s face and she felt sorry there wasn’t anything she could do.  
“I haven’t had dreams with her, you know… not once since she died.” Zelda confessed.  
“Sometimes our beloved ones allow us some space to clear our head before they visit us. They give us time to heal. If they come when the timing is wrong it might open the wound even more instead of helping it close.” Marie explained. “Maybe she’s waiting for you to be okay before she visits you. She’s taking care of you.”   
“But.. she visited you, in your dreams.. and you don’t even know her!” She cried. Zelda wasn’t one to show herself vulnerable in front of people, especially people she didn’t know, but she was so tired of putting up this strong face the whole time that she just let herself feel.  
“She did… but maybe it was a way of helping you? It led me here and maybe I needed to be here for you to have the answers that you need and finally be able to start healing.” She said with compassion, now allowing herself to sit by the woman’s side on the bed. “Our beloved ones also get sad when they see we weren’t able to move on so maybe she’s working her way from there to help you move on.”  
“But I don’t want to move on, I want my niece back!” She sobbed. Mambo Marie got even closer to her and allowed the woman to rest her head on her shoulders.  
That felt so natural. As if they had been in this same position many times before. Holding onto each other, talking until the other fell asleep… the feeling was very familiar even though she knew she was never there. And for Zelda, she also knew this woman wasn’t who she fell in love with back then but at the same time it felt like it was because it was all there. Her way, her voice, her smell…  
“Zelda…” She said after they stayed like that for a while, lost in their thoughts. “maybe we should go find this boy and figure out what happened. We both need answers.”  
“Yes, you’re right.” Zelda whipped out her tears and stood up. “We cannot hold onto something that wasn’t real.” She said as she reached out her hands. “Let’s go.”  
And before any of them could say anything else, Zelda transported them back to the Academy. They had just landed in her office when they heard the doors open.  
“Zelds, Mambo!” It was Hilda followed by Prudence and Ambrose, who had joined them after they told him what happened once Mambo had just disappeared. “We were looking for you all around, Prudence tried to contact you but it didn’t work. What happened?”  
“The dices.” Zelda said. “I thought… he would… and well, she showed up.”  
“So you are indeed Baron Samedi?” Ambrose asked confused.  
“No, I’m not!” Marie affirmed for what felt like the thousandth time that night. “But somehow the dice brought me to her.”  
“And she has had contact with Sabrina.” Zelda said.  
“WHAT?!” Both Ambrose and Hilda yelled at the same time.  
“How?” Prudence asked, as confused as everyone else. “We have tried it uncountable times but we never reached her. Not even with ouija boards.”  
“First you shouldn’t be playing with those, not many people know how dangerous they are. Even if you are witches.” Marie explained. “And second, she visited me in my dreams.”  
“What did she tell you?” Hilda asked. “Was she the angel you mentioned?”  
“Oui. She told me I should follow my gut and that I would know I was in the right place when I got there. And she was right, I’ve felt different since I got here.”  
“But Baron Samedi and-and-and… this is sooooo confusing, aunties!” Ambrose said as he paced from one side to the other.  
“We know.” Zelda answered. “I was wondering if you could do some regression spell with her so maybe we understand how all of this happened. How she has these memories if she was never here before.”  
“I guess we could do that.” He said. “But it’s not easy and it takes a few days to prepare the spell, I need some time.”  
“While that is not ready we could try some things my way.” Mambo said. “But I will need help.” She looked at Prudence and she knew exactly what the woman meant. It was time for the weird sisters to reunite and look for some answers. Or at least try to.  
A couple of days went by with them trying everything they could think of and not being successful. Every time they’d come with zero answers Zelda would go to her office and lock herself in there for hours before she came out with a little bit of red eyes. She also tried to not spend much time with Mambo Marie, who was staying at the Academy so she wouldn’t get attached to something that wasn’t real. She wanted to be near her, she had missed her… but again, it wasn’t her before.   
After many failed magic and vodou attempts, Ambrose was finally ready to use their big card. Mambo Marie spent the whole day doing as he asked, preparing herself for the spell that sounded more like a ritual and when the time came all six of them, since Rozdecided to join, locked themselves in the school’s safest room to perform the spell.  
“Are you ready, luv?” Hilda asked as she helped Marie lay on the bed they had brought.  
“Oui…” She said as she took a deep breath. She could feel Zelda watching her from the farthest corner in the room.  
“Alright, Mambo… here’s what’s going to happen,” Amrbose started explaining to her. “First you need to drink this,” he handed her a cup and waited for her to swallow before he continued, “I need you to concentrate on my words. You’ll start feeling sleepy and eventually you’ll fall asleep. We hope that while you’re there in this sort of dreamland you’re able to see everything that happened.”  
And so he started muttering the words of the spell and everyone watched as she slowly fell into sleep.  
It felt like an eternity while they waited for her to wake up. The clock already marked 5 hours since she fell asleep and they were starting to be worried. They knew it wasn’t going to be fast, but they didn’t know it would take this long and since it was taking longer than expected they were taking turns watching her sleep.  
When the clock reached 6 hours, it was on Zelda’s watch that she started moving as if coming back from this long sleep.  
“Marie… Marie!” She ran to her side as the woman started moving too much on the bed, as if she was having a nightmare. “Marie, listen to my voice, you’re okay, it’s okay, calm down.” She tried to ease her as she held her hand. “It’s okay, just wake up… focus on my voice, it’s okay.”  
And after a few more seconds of her body shaking, Mambo Marie jumped in the bed reaching for air as if she had been suffocated.  
“It’s okay now, calm down, you’re awake, you’re awake!” Zelda said hugging her tight trying to use her body pressure to help the other woman calm down.  
“I-I know what happened…” Marie said in between breaths.


	3. Part III

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Final part! Thanks for reading until here!

They were all reunited at Zelda’s office. Mambo Marie was sitting in a chair drinking the after potion Ambrose had prepared her. They were all ready to know what had happened.  
“Do you feel like you’re strong enough to start to tell us, love?” Hilda asked as gently as possible, even though she was very anxious.  
“Yes, I think so. I saw too many things at once and it’s a little difficult to point out …” She took a deep breath before she went on. “He knew it all along. Baron Samedi… everything that was going to happen. He waited centuries for when the right time came and he started his work when he knew it was close. It was erased from my mind, but you two were right,” She said looking at Prudence and Hilda. “He did visit me after the festivities and offered me a deal. But of course when it comes to Baron Samedi we don’t really have the option to say no. He needed a vessel to walk on earth, but not any vessel.. he needed someone who was also a guide because when these possessions happen a part of the person stays awake even if we don’t acknowledge it, he couldn’t risk being taken away from the road he had to go so he chose me.”  
“So you’re a guide…” Hilda tried to understand. “How so?”  
“It’s similar to a met-tet… I mean, this is the closest comparison we have when we’re talking about living people and not spirits.” She explained. “After I accepted the deal, which was for him to use me as a vessel, I was locked in this parallel reality where I felt like I was living my life normally. I didn’t even know the possession had already happened… I started feeling a little different a few months ago, probably when he revealed his true form and I was finally free, but I only found out for sure when I got here and found you and we talked. I did feel like I knew you but… it was just a feeling. Some stronger than others…” She pointed out as she looked at Zelda.  
“Why did he get close to me?” Zelda asked with a cold tone. “I mean, us.”  
“Because he knew you’d play an important part in all of this. He knew he needed to be here to help your coven prepare for war. That’s why he helped you find Hecate, he needed you to find out about it so you could forget the Church of Night or Church of Lilith and focus on what really mattered. And this is where he needed me too… not only to help him not lose his way but also because it is needed a guide to help people find the right path. Edward was your met-tet, Zelda… your spiritual guardian… but I am your guide. That’s why he got close to you. He used this side of me to prepare you to lead your coven. We’ve both been played…”  
“This… this doesn’t make any sense.” Zelda denied, how could he?  
“It actually does, aunt Zee… if we think about it, when you were back from the dead it was Mambo Marie who helped you bring aunt Hilda back.”  
“No… he’s the Loa of the dead, he did it, it wasn’t her!”  
“But it was the right way. He wouldn’t know what way to follow if it wasn’t this side of her.” Ambrose tried to reason.  
“And what about Sabrina?” Zelda fought back. “Why did she have to die? Why couldn’t he have stayed to help me bring my niece back?” She cried. Hilda held onto her sisters and cried along because this was a question that was also going around in her head.  
“Sabrina did some serious things. She played with the cosmos too many times and not always for selfless reasons… and you know that, cherie.” Marie tried to say it as gently as possible. “And she knows that too. That’s why she came to me instead of coming to you. She knows how you're feeling and she feels bad about it so she had to make a deal in the afterlife in order to bring you peace.”  
“What did she do?” Zelda asked with a stern tone.  
“She hears all of your prayers. Every Time you have wished for her to come back she has heard… but she knows she can’t do what you want even knowing that it was possible. The consequences wouldn’t be good… so she made a deal that her soul would never leave the afterlife if they could help you find your way back to yourself.”  
“They who?” Prudence asked confused.  
“The Cosmos. The Cosmos is made of wishes, coincidences, consequences… the game is laid and we just play it and depending on our move things change… and sometimes we don’t make good moves so it’s hard on us. That’s what happened to Sabrina but the problem is that it was having consequences on other people too. That’s why she made the deal and the Cosmos allowed her to contact the only person who would be able to help you.”  
“And by that you mean you?” Zelda asked sarcastically. “I don’t even know you!”  
“You know a side of me…” She answered with a smile. “When Baron Samedi freed my body and I was finally back to myself I felt different… I started having these memories, these dreams.. well, I already told you about this.”  
“But now that you’re here… what’s the point? The war is over, I don’t need a guide. You can go back to New Orleans now that you found out what happened.”  
“Zelda, you don’t need to be mean!” Hilda shushed her.   
“It’s okay, Mrs. Spellman… I understand where she is coming from.” Marie said. “Baron Samedi’s mission is over, but mine is just starting. That is why I need to be here, to guide you so you can prepare your coven for what’s to come.”  
“What do you mean what’s to come?” Ambrose asked with wide eyes. “I thought it all was over.”  
“Nothing is over until it’s really over. We’ve faced one war like we have faced many before… and as it wasn’t our first, unfortunately it wasn’t out last and we need to be ready when the time to fight comes. Not only our bodies, but especially our minds.” She said that looking straight at Zelda.  
“So what do we do now?” Rozwho had been quiet since the beginning asked the question no one had the courage to ask.  
“We study, we get stronger, we prepare.” Marie answered. “I know you have many questions about your powers and being a witch… and just like you do, in this school, in this town, in this world… there are many others with the same questions too.”  
“So you’re going to stay?” Prudence asked with hope in her voice. She knew Mambo Marie had so much to teach and she was more than willing to learn.  
“Only… if I’m welcome…” She answered looking at Zelda, waiting for the witch's response.  
She had so many eyes on her that she didn’t have much time to think, but she also knew what was the right thing to do and if when she had used the dice the real Mambo Marie was the one who answered… she was probably right.  
“Fine. You can stay.” She said trying to sound serious and cold but she and Marie knew what she was really feeling. “You can have the vodou teacher chair and work with Ms. Night. We can talk about the work we have to do together later. It’s too late already, this day is too long, I need to go home and sleep.”  
No one argued with her on that. Prudence took Mambo Marie to the place where she could stay definitely and everyone else went to their respective homes.  
That night Zelda Spellman cried herself to sleep. But for the first time in months it wasn't sadness. She was relieved that somehow she got information on how Sabrina was doing in the afterlife and even if the deal she made was sad because it meant they would never be able to bring her back, she was proud of the responsibility her niece took and she knew that one day, when she was an old crone and her mission was accomplished and her time was over, they would meet again.  
Her thoughts were interrupted by her dog barking.  
“I don’t know.” She said, to which he replied with another bark. “Okay, fine… to you I can admit it. I’m glad she’s here… I know it wasn’t fully her before but I can see it in her eyes that when we were together, like when we were dancing in Hilda’s wedding… it was her true side showing.” He barked again. “What?!! I’m not gonna do that!” And again another bark. “Fiiiiiiiiiine!” She said rolling her eyes.  
Mambo Marie was getting out of the shower when she heard a noise in her room.  
“Prudence, is that you?” She asked as she walked out of the bathroom, putting her robe on.  
“Oh, I’m sorry!” Zelda said as she closed her eyes and turned around.  
“Don’t worry, Zelda. ” Marie said as she laughed. “You can turn around now.” She completed when she tied the knot of her robe.  
“I- I just… have you settled in alright?”   
“Oui, Prudence has helped me with everything.” She answered with a smile as she crossed her arms. “Can I help you with anything or… wait, you’re not really here, are you?” She said as she looked in Zelda’s eyes.  
“No, I’m in my room back at the house, I’m just astral projecting.” She explained. “I just…” She took a deep breath. “I just needed to let you know that I know it was you… when… you know.” She could feel her cheeks getting red. “I can see it in your eyes.”  
“Only in my eyes…” She said getting closer to the woman.  
“No… I feel it too. In… In here…” She pointed to her heart. “For Hecate’s sake… I feel like a teenager saying these things.”  
“It’s not a problem to feel like a teenager every once in a while… and I believe you. I felt it the moment I walked in that shop. Even if I was still confused with everything.”  
“Yeah… I know… I just… I need time… to process everything”  
“I understand, me too.” Marie said with a smile. “At least we can have the opportunity to meet again and be our full selves this time? I mean, at least me.”  
They both laughed.  
“Yes… I think it will be good.” Zelda agreed with a smile. “And before my time is up… I’d just really like to thank you, you know… for Sabrina, what you told me about her. It makes me feel a little better.”  
“Bien sûr, you don’t need to thank me. Now you have two beautiful spiritual guides looking out for you.” She smiled.  
“And I’m hoping I’ll have a good guide in this world too.”  
“I promise I’ll do my best.”  
“Well, I have to go now,” She took a deep breath. “It was nice to meet you, Mambo Marie.”   
“It was nice to meet you too, Zelda Spellman.”  
And after one final exchange of smile Zelda was back in her room where Vinnegar Tom was waiting for her to come back.  
“This is it, Vinnie.” She said as she pet his head. “We can go to bed now.”

**Author's Note:**

> This was supposed to be a one shot but it is too long so I split it into 3 chapters. Don't worry, I'm posting all of them at once!


End file.
